Category Archives: Photos

Awaji onions debut at Japan’s premier online Niconico party

CHIBA, April 29 — Awaji onions debuted at Japan’s premier online event outside of Tokyo. A three-meter hut with hanging Awaji onions emerged at the annual Niconico Chokaigi at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, held on April 29 and 30. “Awaji Island is well known for its onions and you can see them hanging up to dry almost anywhere you go on the island,” explained an official from Sumoto city in Awaji, Hyogo prefecture, western Japan. “We hope visitors feel the atmosphere of Awaji Island,” he added. The two-day gathering, organized by the video service Niconico, attracted 161, 300 visitors and recorded 6.12 million stream viewers. At the event hall, activities … Continue reading

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Professional handball players working on the farm and playing in the court: Fresa Fukuoka (Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture)

FUKUOKA, April 15 — A handball team of strawberry farmers, Fresa Fukuoka, based at Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture, is now drawing attention as a new model for athletes to work on the farm and play in the court. All its members are farmers and players and their goal this year is to win the tournament and join the top league. Established in 2016 as a team of young strawberry growers, Fresa Fukuoka now has a membership in the second-level handball league in Japan. It currently has 15 players, headed by a 25-year-old captain, Akihiro Watanabe, and all of them work hard during the day on weekdays as employees of seven strawberry … Continue reading

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Japanese frozen snow resembles white radish daikon grater

UONUMA, April 8 — After snow plows cleared a northern Japan field, what appeared to be big thorns emerged in Uonuma city. The fields were being treated to increase effective farmland area in Niigata prefecture, but worked had been halted due to an onset of heavy winter snow. Snow dug and loaded by a power shovel transformed into what appeared to be thorns. It also resembles a large-toothed grater for white radish, daikon.

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【Series】 Our Noh no Ikebana : “Let’s celebrate new lives and new shoot,” says Taeko Fukuyama, 76, from Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture (Apr. 6)

With Noh no Ikebana, I often chose dishes such as kimchi and chirashi zushi (sushi with colorful toppings) as a theme for my arrangement, in addition to seasonal features and appreciation for agricultural products. In that case, I combine ingredients and tools I use for the dishes with flowers and other materials to give it a sense of seasons. The theme of this arrangement is “The first spring storm.” The container is a dead branch of Japanese apricot I found in my garden. I added several types of local specialties, such as mushrooms, strawberries, and hassaku oranges. I used no flowers, no plants. However, I used the mushrooms instead of … Continue reading

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Fugashi snack in shape, color and size of panda poop becoming popular in Japan

TOKYO, March 28 – Matcha green-tea-flavored fun snack introduced this month by a souvenir shop inside JR Ueno Station in Taito ward, Tokyo, is already enjoying huge popularity today. The name of the goody is, believe or not, “Panda no Unko” which means panda poops in Japanese. The new tidbit made of dried wheat gluten is original product created after the birth of Shan Shan (or Xiang Xiang in Chinese), a giant panda cub, at the Ueno Zoo in June last year. The shop, Ueno Land, asked one traditional wheat gluten food manufacturer in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Matsuo, to make this amusing product that resembles a poop of a panda … Continue reading

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